Valentine
by ilovenascar
Summary: Two NCIS families strive to have the perfect Valentine’s celebration. Jibbs, Tate, Tony/Other
1. JennyGibbs

Fic Title: Valentine

Author: I Love NASCAR

Fandom: NCIS

Pairing: Jibbs, Tony/Other

Date: February 14, 2008

Feedback: please

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: The only profit I receive from this story is the feedback you provide. All creative rights to the characters belong to DB, not me.

Summary: Two NCIS families strive to have the perfect Valentine's celebration.

Dedications: To Julia and Elflord, whose help and feedback has been greatly appreciated. To the Jenny & Gibbs forum, who have been asking for more Jibbs fluff.

Jennifer Shepherd smelled the orchids she had brought home from work, the flowers Gibbs had given her for years, a change from the traditional roses the other men in her life had given her. The orchids were rare, special, and, when she did receive them, they meant something, from a simple thank you to a way of his showing her that he did care. The fact that he remembered Valentine's Day at all surprised her; she'd expected the opposite. She changed from the suit and heels of her work day to a pair of new dark blue jeans and more comfortable shoes, choosing to leave her silk blouse on but untucked. She checked the card again, smiling to herself as she read the words, and then looked at her watch. Time to go.

Jethro Gibbs would never have confessed to anyone, but he was more than a little nervous. Although he wanted to pretend it was a night like any other, it was Valentine's Day, the first he'd shared with a woman since Shannon's death, something that had contributed to his divorces, but something that he was satisfied with...until Jenny. Still, he was nervous and found himself trying to calm his nerves by working on his fifth, and hopefully final, boat. 

"Jethro?" Jenny let herself in, as she often did, and walked through the house, going down the stairs to the basement. "Jethro?"

Like a child caught doing something it shouldn't, he backed away, putting the tool down. "Jen."

She smiled, always liking this part of him, being hands-on, something that men generally weren't in her world. "Hey." She approached him with a smile, touching his cheek. "Sawdust."

He loved the way her eyes lit up when she smiled and leaned down, kissing her lips gently, something he had longed to do all day. "You look great."

"So do you." He had changed into jeans and a t-shirt to work on the boat, having forgotten to leave time to change, and was covered with dirt and sawdust, but looked completely irresistable.

He looked down at his clothes sheepishly. "I forgot to change."

"I don't want you to." It was the truth, in more ways than one. "Do you still have that extra shirt?"

He moved away from her, finding the workshirt he kept downstairs, and helped her put it on, finding it odd to be buttoning her shirt instead of unbuttoning it. He took her hands, in comfortable silence, and stood behind her as they worked on the wood together.

Hours passed without even noticing. It was almost ten by the time they remembered they hadn't eaten anything since lunch. He didn't want to break away from her, loving the contact with her, the quiet peace they found alone together, but knew he should.

"Why don't you get cleaned up? I'll put everything away."

She wanted to tell him she'd wait, she wanted him to come with her, but she nodded. "Okay." She kissed him on the cheek and went upstairs.

When he joined her, she was already out of the shower, dressed in some clothes she kept for the weekends. She dried her hair with a towel, hearing the water running from his shower, her mind taking her to places she never got tired of, causing her to smile again at the memories. She looked at the lip gloss and blush that she kept in her purse, not sure if she should put them on again or not, until she felt Gibbs' arms around her waist.

"You don't need them." He kissed her neck. "You always were prettier just the way you are."

She turned around, running her hand on his cheek, kissing him gently. Despite the times when she felt every one of her forty-five years and even thought she looked them, something about Gibbs always made her feel like she was a decade younger, back when there was no one but the two of them, when they had the freedom to do or say whatever they wanted, before bodyguards and schedules, responsibility and all-too-well known secrets.

"We should eat." He spoke again, breaking the spell.

She nodded, knowing he was right. They had work the next morning and it had been eleven hours since she'd had anything to eat. It was impossible to stay in the bubble all the time; she realized how lucky she was to have that perfect place as much as she did. "Pancakes?"

"Sounds good." They walked downstairs together, Jenny getting the ingredients out while he looked for the mixer.

"Flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and butter," she repeated as if she was completing a checklist, which mentally she was. "By the way, you're almost out of milk. We can get some this weekend."

He nodded, making a mental note. More and more, the weekends they didn't have to work were spent living together, usually his place, doing ordinary couple things like cooking, shopping, and working around the house, sharing their lives, like they once had on a regular, day by day, basis.

As she mixed the eggs, flour, and sugar, he got out the coffee, starting a fresh pot, and then used the microwave to melt the butter, adding it as she added the milk. She got a teaspoon worth of batter, letting him taste it, laughing when he moved his head and got some on his cheek.

"Funny, is it?" He teased her, letting her taste as well, kissing her so that he could taste the flavors on her lips.

"We'll never get this done," she whispered against his lips, breaking the kiss, but kissing his cheek to get the batter off before putting the mixture in the frying pan, watching as it started to thicken.

He watched how tired she seemed to be and, after they were finished cooking, said, "Go lay down. I'll bring a tray."

"You're sure?" She looked doubtful for a second, studying him.

He kissed her forehead. "Go." He watched her walk away before smiling, doing the basic cleanup, putting two mugs of coffee and a plate of the pancakes with powdered sugar on a tray, with silverware, carrying them to the bedroom.

He tried hard not to look at her bare legs above the quilts, knowing if he did, food would be the last thing on his mind. They fed each other, laughing, talking from time to time, enjoying their time together, cherishing it more than they once had. As Jenny thought about all they'd been through, how many times they'd nearly lost each other, she couldn't believe how careless, cavalier, they'd been, taking for granted that the other would always be there.

When they were finished, she took the tray back to the kitchen, rinsing everything off to make the job easier for the morning, making sure they'd turned the coffeepot and the stove off, then returning to the bedroom, stopping to smile. Although many women might think it was the worst sin in the world, she found it amusing to see Jethro asleep, looking vulnerable and sweet. She lay beside him, kissing his cheek, her head on his chest, finally saying what she'd longed to for years, "I love you".


	2. Tony

Tony DiNozzo could picture her now, dressing in that black dress that showed off the perfect body he loved so much in all the right places. Her golden hair would be down, curled slightly at the ends, and her blue eyes would be only accented by the makeup she wore. He couldn't wait to get home and, if not for his plans for the perfect Valentine's night, neither of them might ever leave the house again. He turned at the light, having run out of time to go pick up the chocolates earlier that day, and cursed, finding himself stuck behind a traffic jam.

He pulled out his cell phone, sighing as he looked at the clock. It had taken an hour too long to finish up the case and leave work, now this setback was more than he could handle. He smiled a little, despite himself, when he heard his girlfriend's voice. "Hey, baby."

Shelby Gibbs answered the phone, driving to the sitter's to pick up their daughter. "Hey. I figured you'd be home by now."

"So did I." He paused. "I'm stuck in traffic. I have some things to pick up. Did you get my roses?"

"Yeah." She paused. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Um...I love you?"

She sighed. "Tony, you know I love the flowers, because you sent them, but I just have to ask...why the color?"

"Red? It's supposed to be traditional, isn't it?"

"Red, yes. Yellow...not exactly."

He cursed, regardless of the fact that she could hear him. "You got yellow?" He sighed. "Damn, Shelby, I'm sorry. I ordered red. I looked it up on the net and they're supposed to mean love and romance, perfection...I wanted tonight to be perfect." 

"You..." She started to say something and then stopped before starting again. "You looked it up?" The thought counted with her, especially in presents. It would have been one thing if he sent red flowers because everyone else did, but the fact that he'd tried to find the meaning, tried to make it perfect, touched her more than the actual flowers.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I'm stuck in a damned traffic jam, I'm going to be late."

"It's okay. I'm still on my way to Anna's to pick Bella up."

He thought about his girls, how much they meant to each other. "Okay. I'll see you at home." He paused. "I love you."

She smiled, knowing it wasn't easy for him to say the words, but that they came genuine, from the heart. "I love you too, baby." She hung up, going to the door, and Tony hung up, thinking to himself.

He'd celebrated Valentine's Day for years, since he was fourteen, but only one other one stood out in his memory, the one where his daughter had been born. Days like today, he could understand an inkling of what Gibbs felt. True, he hadn't lost his daughter, but he'd lost Kate and, even though he loved Shelby, he still missed his partner. Bella looked so much like her at times he found his breath being taken away, the same enchanting eyes, the same exotic features, the same smile that lit up a room. He wondered what she would say if she were still alive, about their friends, about Bella, and about Shelby. The girls had met a handful of times over Kate's two years with NCIS and had gotten along. When Kate died, he'd been crushed, completely destroyed. He didn't know what to do to take care of himself for awhile, much less his daughter, and, although Gibbs had attempted to help, it had been Shelby who took leave from work, helped him get back on his feet, sat up with him while he slept, taught him how to take care of Bella. Shelby didn't try to replace Kate in his life or in Bella's, making sure Kate was still an active part in the little girl's life, but the plain and simple truth was, because Bella had been four months old at the time of Kate's death, the little girl would never remember her birth mother. The only mother the girl had ever known was Shelby and even Kate couldn't have loved the little girl more. He'd been toying with the idea of adoption lately, something he never thought he'd approve of, but wanted to know that, if something happened to him, Shelby and Bella could still be together.

He shook the morbid thoughts out of his head, thinking back to the day his little girl was born. She'd been a month early, weighed about five pounds, and the first time he held her, he was sure that she would break. He remembered the yellow roses he'd bought Kate, another reason why he had ordered red for Shelby. He remembered Gibbs arriving at the hospital, the only person they'd told the truth, both figuring they owed him that much, and remembered asking him to be the godfather. Nothing had been perfect about that night, the only Valentine's Day that had ever failed, but what he'd gotten out of it was the best thing in his life, his daughter, Isabella.

An hour later, he arrived home, not in the best of moods, both surprised and disappointed when Shelby wasn't dressed in the black dress but sweats, didn't have her hair curled and makeup on, but freshly showered and in sweats.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting his purchases down on the counter, next to the offending roses.

"Bella's running a fever."

He stopped in place. Although he knew how often children got sick, he also knew how easy it would be to lose his daughter. "How high?"

"102." She continued, barely giving him a chance to open his mouth let alone respond. "I already called her pediatrician and they said it was normal." Again, she continued, his mouth still open. "I double-checked with Ducky and he told me what to look for, said if any of it happened to bring her in and call him. I've given her a sponge bath and she's been drinking juice all day. I think it's just a cold."

He nodded, not exactly comforted, but knowing he was probably overreacting. He never forgot her first Christmas, in the hospital with RSV virus and pneumonia. There was a reason why he was paranoid about the two women who meant the most to him. "Okay."

"So we're staying in. I ordered pizza and I'm making Bella some soup. She's curled up on the couch, watching movies." He looked at the bags he'd carried in. "I'll put them up."

He hesitated, but kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

She touched his worried cheek. "Go see your daughter."

He walked into the living room, seeing the flush on her cheeks, sucking on a Popsicle, managing to get it all over her and the couch. He picked her up anyway, kissing her forehead, feeling the warmth. "Daddy..."

"Hey, baby." He hugged her, rocking her back and forth carefully, watching the black and white credits roll. "What were you watching?"

"Beast." She watched as he turned the DVD off. "Story."

"Story, huh?" He told her the story of the day she'd been born, starting from that morning when he'd gotten to work, going to the first time Gibbs had held her, making sure to tell her, as he always did, how much Kate had loved her, how proud she had been of her. He knew the little girl didn't understand then, but one day she would and he wanted her to remember.

Tony saw Shelby's expression when she came in and saw the mess. He put Bella back down and kissed Shelby's cheek.

"You and Mama pick out another movie, okay?"

He went in search of something to clean Bella and then clean the couch, bringing the pizza in on paper plates, the soup in one of Bella's bowls, and then returned for glasses of Coke and juice. It might not be gourmet, it might not be wine, but he was going to make sure that Shelby had the night off, for once.

"What'd you find?" He asked, settling down by Shelby, Bella in her lap. He expected Casablanca, Sabrina, or another 'chick movie' but not what he heard.

"Shrek," Shelby said, trying to hide a smile.

"Shrek?" He had watched all three movies so many times that he could quote them and was almost sure Bella knew them by heart.

"Shrek," the little girl said stubbornly, having inherited her own unique brand of determination from both Kate and himself.

"Yellow roses, pizza, Coke, and Shrek," Tony mumbled under his breath, giving into his daughter's whims.

They watched the movie in silence, the backwards version of a classic fairy tale love story. Most of the time Tony enjoyed the irony, as well as spotting mentions and characters from other movies, but it just wasn't the way he'd intended on spending the night. Bella fell asleep in the middle of the movie, early for her, but accepted given her being sick. Tony carried her into her soft green bedroom, tucking her in, and kissing her forehead, coming back to see the movie off and Shelby in the kitchen cleaning up.

"I'm sorry," he apologized automatically. "This isn't the way I wanted tonight to go. I wanted it to be perfect. Failing that, I wanted to give you a night off."

She turned to face him, sitting on the counter bar, focusing on him. "I don't want the night off. Perfect is in the eye of the beholder, Tony. The people that I love are all happy, safe, and, aside from Bella's cold, healthy. You're home with us. That, to me, is perfect. Everything else is bullshit."

He took a few steps closer to her. "I couldn't even get chocolate. I had to settle for chocolate ice cream."

She laughed. "I saw." She drew him closer, kissing him, her legs wrapping around him, holding him close. "Don't worry so much."

"I never used to. But you two give me a lot of practice."

She laughed, her eyes looking into his. "Is Bella still asleep?"

"Sound asleep."

She took the ice cream out. "You wouldn't be still hungry for dessert...would you?"

He laughed quietly, picking her up, her body still wrapped around his. "I think I can make room." She grinned, her head in his neck as he carried her off.


End file.
